Joy Jemima, 5, waters a vegetable plot Tuesday night at a community garden at East 13th Avenue at Xenia Street, in one of Denver’s newest parks. The park, which does not yet have a name, will be officially opened June 23.

Denver ranks 13th among the 40 largest U.S. cities in a comparison of park systems released Wednesday — and city leaders pledged improvement.

The 240 parks covering 6 percent of Denver, combined with annual spending of $122 per resident and 79 percent of people living with a half-mile of parks, ensured Denver’s position in this first analysis by the Trust for Public Land.

“Denver should be proud to rank among cities with the best park systems in the United States, but this data should put to rest a persistent myth we often hear that Denver has the largest park system in the country,” said Tim Wohlgenant, the trust’s director for Colorado and the Southwest. “We must continue to find ways to add new parks to our system to adequately serve our citizens.”

Mayor Michael Hancock issued a statement welcoming Denver’s inclusion in the comparison and saying he’ll push to develop new and better parks.

“Denver’s parks play a major role in providing a high quality of life for those who live, work and play here,” Hancock said. “Great parks support strong, healthy neighborhoods. To deliver a world-class city where everyone matters, we’re committed to maintaining, improving and expanding our active park system.”

New parks are being established east of downtown, at East 13th Avenue and Xenia Street, and in west Denver at West Alameda Avenue and South Newton Street, with help from a $350,000 lottery-fund grant.

City officials say tight budgets limit land acquisition. Rather than just buy land for new parks, “we want to be able to take care of them,” deputy parks and recreation manager Scott Gilmore said.

Partnerships with outside groups will enable construction over the next year of “workout zone” stations in parks — modeled after graffiti-proof stations in Los Angeles, Gilmore said.

South Platte River corridor projects increasingly will emphasize water quality — “so that, when people go down to the confluence (of the South Platte River and Cherry Creek), they do not see a sign saying ‘Health Warning,’ ” he said.

The trust’s criteria included park accessibility within a 10-minute walk (for 79 percent Denver residents vs. 90 percent in Seattle). The trust factored in playgrounds per 10,000 residents (2.42 in Denver, 1.78 in San Francisco) and public spending.

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New parks being established in Denver: at East 13th Avenue and Xenia Street, and at West Alameda Avenue and South Newton Street

Bruce Finley covers environment issues, the land air and water struggles shaping Colorado and the West. Finley grew up in Colorado, graduated from Stanford, then earned masters degrees in international relations as a Fulbright scholar in Britain and in journalism at Northwestern. He is also a lawyer and previously handled international news with on-site reporting in 40 countries.

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